Hotel Software Built for Independents,
Not Chains
You don't have an IT department. You have a front desk, a housekeeping roster, OTA logins, and taxes to file. Frontdesko is a full PMS that an independent hotel, guesthouse, or B&B can run from day one - free forever, with a channel manager when you want it.
Why Independent Hotels Need Different Software
Enterprise PMS assumes a brand standard, an integrator, and a budget. Independents need the opposite.
Owner-Operator Reality
The same person who checks guests in negotiates OTA rates and does the books. Frontdesko is learnable in a day: a visual front-desk calendar, one-click check-in/out, housekeeping statuses, and folios that make sense without training courses or certification programs.
Local Payments on the Folio
Independents live on bank transfers, mobile money, POS machines, and cash - not just cards. Every payment method is first-class on the guest folio with per-method daily reconciliation. Online, guests pay through your own gateway account: Stripe, Razorpay, PayMongo (GCash/Maya), Xendit or Midtrans (QRIS, OVO, DANA, GoPay), PayPal, or Square - settling to you, not us.
Taxes Itemized, Not Improvised
VAT, tourism levies, service charge - attach any combination of taxes to your room types and every booking, folio, and invoice computes and itemizes them automatically. Guests see a clean breakdown; your accountant gets export-ready sales and tax summaries.
Everything an Independent Property Needs
One system from first booking to final invoice
Front Desk & Reservations
Drag-and-drop tape chart, group bookings, room moves, early check-ins, late check-outs, and a full audit trail of every change.
Channel Manager & Booking Engine
Real-time sync with Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, Traveloka and 200+ channels, plus a commission-free booking engine for your own website.
Housekeeping & Maintenance
Room status workboard, cleaning assignments, and maintenance issues - visible to the front desk in real time so no guest walks into a dirty room.
Folios, Invoices & Multi-Tax
Split folios, direct billing, write-offs, itemized multi-tax invoices, and payment tracking that actually reconciles at the end of the day.
POS for Your Restaurant or Bar
Post restaurant and bar charges straight to the room folio. Menu categories carry their own tax rates, so mixed bills stay compliant.
AI Assistant
Ask questions in plain language - "what's my occupancy next weekend?", "find the booking for the guest arriving from Nairobi" - and get answers from your live data.
How Frontdesko Compares for Independents
Most independents comparing software land on the same shortlist: Little Hotelier, Cloudbeds, Hotelogix, RoomRaccoon, or Mews. They are good systems - priced for Western markets at roughly $80-$350 per month for a 10-20 room property, before add-ons.
Frontdesko's difference is structural: the PMS itself is free forever with no room limit, and the paid tier ($42/month with channel manager + AI assistant) is priced in your local currency on our country pages - so a guesthouse in Nairobi, Lagos, Manila, or Kuala Lumpur pays a local price, takes local payment methods, and itemizes local taxes without workarounds.
See the detailed head-to-heads: each comparison page covers pricing, features, and who each system is genuinely better for. For the full category breakdown, see the hotel management software guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best PMS for a small independent hotel with 10-20 rooms?
Frontdesko's free-forever plan covers the full PMS - front desk, housekeeping, folios, invoicing, reports - with no room limit at that size. The Basil plan at $42/month adds the channel manager and AI assistant. Comparable small-hotel systems typically run $80-$350/month.
Why not just use an enterprise PMS?
Enterprise systems assume an IT team, an implementation project, and per-room enterprise pricing. Independents need software an owner-operator can run alone from day one - and pricing that survives low season.
Does it support local payment methods and taxes?
Yes - your own gateway account online (Stripe, Razorpay, PayMongo, Xendit, Midtrans, PayPal, Square), and mobile money, bank transfer, POS, and cash as first-class folio payment methods at the desk. The multi-tax engine itemizes VAT, levies, and service charges on every invoice.
How much does it cost?
The PMS is free forever with no room limit. Growth is $42/month (11-30 rooms) and Saffron $54/month (31-50 rooms), both with the channel manager and AI assistant included - no setup fees, no commissions from us.
Run Your Independent Hotel on Software That Fits
Start free in minutes. Upgrade only when the OTAs are worth managing from one screen.
Competing as an Independent
Why chain-built software fits badly
5 Ways to Compete With Chains
The advantages an independent actually has, and how to use them.
Learn More →When Enterprise PMS Slows You Down
Software built around specialised roles fails where one person does every job.
Learn More →Rigid PMS vs Real Workflows
Where inflexible systems break against how independents actually operate.
Learn More →More questions
Why do independent hotels need different software than chains?
Chains have IT departments, standardized brand workflows, and enterprise budgets. An independent hotel has an owner-operator wearing five hats. Independent hotel software has to be learnable in a day, priced to survive low season, flexible about how you actually run your rooms and rates, and honest about local realities: local payment methods on the folio, local taxes itemized on invoices, and OTA connections without a systems integrator.
Does Frontdesko support local payment methods and local taxes?
Yes. The booking engine connects to the hotel's own payment gateway account (Stripe, Razorpay, PayMongo for GCash/Maya, Xendit and Midtrans for QRIS/OVO/DANA/GoPay, PayPal, Square), settling directly to the hotel. At the front desk, mobile money, bank transfer, POS, and cash are first-class folio payment methods with per-method daily reconciliation. A multi-tax engine attaches any combination of VAT, tourism levies, and service charges to room types and itemizes each tax on every invoice.
How much does independent hotel software cost?
Frontdesko's PMS is free forever with no room limit. Growth is $42/month for 11-30 rooms and adds the channel manager and AI assistant; Saffron is $54/month for 31-50 rooms. Prices are also published in local currency on our country pages. There are no setup fees and no per-booking commissions from us.